Thursday, February 25, 2010

What does Washington have in common with Star Trek conventions? - Don Boudreaux

From Cafe Hayek:

"This morning I heard on a local DC radio station an interview with a tourist who complained that Washington’s “scripted” inhabitants “have no real understanding” of the economic situation of ordinary Americans.

"I agree with the tourist’s assessment, but unlike her I’m not disappointed. You see, to visit DC expecting to find people engaged in serious discussions of economics is like visiting a Star Trek convention expecting to find people engaged in serious discussions of astrophysics. Perhaps a handful of the celebrities and costumed performers are familiar with real science, but their overwhelming object is not to help their public deal with reality but, rather, to escape it.